The council is having to save £70,000 from its CCTV budget, and one option considered was to reduce the number of hours that cameras were monitored. But the savings are now being made in other ways to avoid having to cut the monitoring.

Councillor Tony Durnell, member champion for CCTV, said: “I was tasked, with officers, to come up with savings of around £70,000. Reducing the number of monitoring hours was discussed as an option, but we have managed to find the savings requested without having to do that.

“We have made shift patterns more cost-effective and at the same time made the whole department more efficient. Many of the improvements have come from the staff themselves, and give the team the flexibility to take on extra work from the private sector, without losing any monitoring time. I would like to reassure residents and businesses in the county that we are fully committed to our CCTV service, and we are doing all we can to ensure the service is not reduced.”

Shropshire Council Cabinet member, Councillor Martin Taylor-Smith, whose portfolio includes environmental maintenance, added: “The presence of CCTV on our streets has a clear benefit in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, which is a priority for the majority of Shropshire residents. I am sure many people will be pleased to hear we will not be reducing the service, and indeed are looking to expand by offering the service to private companies.”